Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on levels of hiring confidence among small and medium-sized enterprises.

My department has published a robust set of Impact Assessments that provide a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments

This analysis includes consideration of increases in labour costs for businesses and the subsequent effects, as well as assessments on the impacts to micro, small and medium businesses in line with the Better Regulation Framework.